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Article: Twins Daily Staff Predictions for the Twins First Round Pick

Andrew Thares
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Andrew Thares Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

Andrew Thares

Twins Daily Contributor
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With so much excitement around the Minnesota Twins and the success they are having to start the season, it can be easy to forget that the MLB Draft is already here. In past years there was more excitement leading into the draft as it is where the Twins were building their future that Twins fans have been yearning for. Now that the future is here, it becomes so much more important for the Twins to get their first-round pick right, because they might not have the opportunity to select a guy in the top half of the first-round for the next few years.In the first two drafts under the new regime the Twins have shown an affection for drafting college hitters, as three of the four guys they have taken with their first two picks in each draft have been college hitters. The lone none college hitter being Royce Lewis. Do the Twins follow that trend again this year, or do they go in a different direction with pick number 13? Let’s see what the Twins Daily staff thinks about this.

 

Andrew Thares

 

I will start with my own prediction. If you read my draft prospect rankings you will know that I am very high on Georgia prep pitcher Daniel Espino, and I have him ranked 13th overall. However, as hard as it would be for me to pass on Espino, I am not the one making the pick, and my prediction is a reflection of that.

 

That is why my prediction for who the Twins will take at number 13 is Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers. College catchers were a point of emphasis for the Twins in last year’s draft as they took three of them in the first 13 rounds. However, none of the three are anywhere near the talent defensively that Shea Langeliers is. Langeliers has the potential to be a perennial gold glove candidate behind the dish, and he can also contribute with the bat as he has a career .896 OPS and has hit at least 10 home runs in all three of his seasons at Baylor.

 

 

Jeremy Nygaard

 

I don't think the Twins will pass on Bryson Stott if he is still available, but he seems to have the right amount of helium that he's likely to hear his name called in the Top 10. It's possible that the Twins will have their pick of the college pitching litter - and they seem to be the highest on George Kirby and Alek Manoah. Drafting a pitcher in the first round hasn't been this front office's M.O., though, and drafting bats that can play has. Josh Jung has a bat that can play, so he'll be in the mix as well. The reality is that the Twins have the luxury to "draft best prospect available" due to the depth of their farm system. And they have the added bonus of an extra pick (and extra money), so if there is a guy they like more than the industry, they should have no reservations about taking him - Michael Busch? - and using the savings to draft a high schooler who might require a little extra money later.

 

 

Tom Froemming

 

My prediction: Logan Davidson, SS, Clemson

 

The Twins have the 13th pick, so this might seem like a bit of a reach. Andrew had Davidson ranked at No. 23 on his list for the site, which is pretty consistent with where I've seen him elsewhere. MLB Pipeline has him at 22 and he's at No. 25 on FanGraphs' list. He's mostly billed as a low-ceiling, high-floor guy, but I see him as somebody the Twins could find very attractive.

 

He's big for a shortstop, I'm not sure that'll be where he ends up when it's all said and done, but that's the ideal place to start. He's a switch hitter, and the plus part about that size is I think you can expect him to develop even more power. Most teams focus on getting the best available players in the draft, and rightly so, but I also believe Davidson could fit in nicely with the big picture. Yes, Jorge Polanco is signed long term, Nick Gordon is knocking on the door, Royce Lewis is still among the top prospects in all of baseball and Wander Javier is (finally) in full-season ball. The shortstop pipeline appears to be really strong, so adding a guy who's about to turn 22 in December to that mix may seem like overkill, no team has ever had too many shortstops. Davidson might end up at third base anyway, but the more exciting thing to think about is he could also develop into a really valuable trade chip in short order. It would be a bit on the conservative side, but I'm going with Davidson as my pick for who the Twins go with at No. 13.

 

 

Nick Nelson

 

We don't know who's going to be available when the Twins select at No. 13 overall, but we can safely say they'll have a bevy of projectable college arms to choose from. The 10-through-20 set of Andrew's pre-draft rankings included five such pitchers, including a 6-foot-8 JuCo right-hander named Jackson Rutledge who really intrigues me. But the Twins might be safer to go with a more polished and established option like Kentucky's Zack Thompson or TCU's Nick Lodolo. One way or another, I'd love to see the organization add a high-upside starter who can benefit from their improved development system and potentially rise fast. If the Twins can indeed settle into a groove of sustained contention, impactful arms will always be welcomed from the pipeline.

 

 

Steven Buhr

 

I’m admittedly far from an expert on the draft, but I usually tend to favor drafting the best athlete – the guy who has the best ceiling with at least a reasonable chance of getting close to that ceiling. This is almost always a position player.

 

So, naturally, this year I’ve got my eyes on LHP Zack Thompson, the 21-year-old pitcher from Kentucky.

 

We’ve been programmed for so long to think about the next “window of opportunity” for the Twins to be competitive, but it has become very clear that the next window of opportunity is already wide open and that means the focus now needs to shift to quality talent that can extend that window as long as possible. For me, that means it makes some sense to select the best starting pitcher you can find who has a legitimate shot at being a top-half-the-rotation arm. If he’s left-handed, so much the better.

 

That’s how I land on Thompson. Lots of strikeouts from a fastball that gets into the mid 90s (hopefully, the Twins’ new pitching gurus can raise that a few ticks) and an even better slider. I read he’s had some injury issues, but finding pitchers that haven’t had any problems is tough to do. Let’s get this guy and push him aggressively (after at least a few weeks in Cedar Rapids with the Kernels, of course!)

 

 

Cody Christie

 

It's tough to predict what will happen when the Twins are sitting in the middle of the first round. Corbin Carroll isn't going to get past the Twins if he is still on the board. He is one of the best high school hitters in the class and his bat and athleticism will play well during his professional career.

 

 

As you can see there are a number off different ways the Twins might go in the draft. Will they take a player they can sign under slot value to save money for later picks, or will they get aggressive with their first-round pick and put all their eggs in that basket? Let us know who you think the Twins will take with the 13th overall pick in the draft.

 

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Dman Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

Dman

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I think the Twins go with Langiliers or Carroll if they are still there.  With such good hitters likely on the board I don't see them going with a pitcher but since high end pitching is the weakest area in the system maybe they will surprise me.    Taking pitchers early has been unkind to the Twins in the past.   The only success story I can think of is Kyle Gibson.  I take that back they also took Garza in the first but traded him. Also they have  been good at finding hitters in the later rounds so maybe they take a chance on high end pitching with the first pick anyway?

 

If Stot or Jung are there I could see them picking one of those two as well.  There will be some good players left when we pick I guess it just depends on what kind of deal they cut to get one of the better players in that range.

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diehardtwinsfan Minnesota Twins

diehardtwinsfan

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I like Langileers personally, especially if they can get him 1M or so under slot...Otherwise, Espino would be my preference.

 

I hope they stock up on HS talent. I'd rather go with upside in this draft. They don't really need a bunch of fast to the majors type players given a locked down core and some good prospects in the high minors. 

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Steve Lein Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

Steve Lein

Twins Daily Contributor
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I almost always want the Twins to take high ceiling starting pitching because they haven't ever been a team to buy it on the MLB market and you need to find it somewhere, but where they're picking this year probably means hitter (like Kirilloff's draft).

 

I like Alek Manaoh, Nick Lodolo, and Jackson Rutledge too. But if they're there, Langeliers and Carrol strikes me as the Falvine's pick.

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